Letter from the editor

I hope everybody had a wonderful homecoming! While I couldn’t attend the celebrations this year, I continue to be curious — and amused — by the process that comes along with “preparing” for homecoming on the upper administrative level.

I think I got three emails about homecoming in the two to three weeks prior to the celebration. All of them were more or less the same: be careful. Don’t drink too much. Be respectful. The list goes on. While I feel it’s a little bit cumbersome to try and curb student behavior during homecoming weekend, I can’t help but appreciate the fact that the administration is, at least, not going to try and stop the craziness that will inevitably ensue.

What I’ve noticed over the years is that the more you tell someone not to do something fun, the more likely it is going to happen. Then, part of the “fun” becomes doing something that we’re explicitly told not to do. It would be counterproductive to pretend that West Chester won’t go crazy over homecoming weekend, and I’m happy that, instead of telling students not to drink, West Chester University gives advice on how to drink in such a way that won’t give you alcohol poisoning.

I’m not advocating for a campus where alcohol is allowed, but sometimes I wonder about the results if the same logic were to apply for alcohol on campus year-round. If campus allowed for moderate alcohol usage, instead of placing a ban altogether, I often wonder if it would take the harmful stigma away from alcohol that pushes students towards harmful, secretive drinking behaviors.

I’m no expert, but these are just my thoughts. I wasn’t able to observe the crazy homecoming weekend this year, but I do hope that everyone had a good time without getting too black-out drunk.

.@WCUofPA Continues Proactive Response to Combat #COVID19: Moves to Alternate Modes of Instruction for the Remainder of the Spring Semester: https://www.wcupa.edu/communications/newsroom/2020/03.10update.aspx